Women's Hockey Team to Open Season This Weekend, Hosting Robert Morris

Friday, October 13

Princeton, N.J.

6:00 PM

Princeton University

Robert Morris

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women's hockey players stand ahead of national anthem

Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

Women's Hockey Team to Open Season This Weekend, Hosting Robert Morris

October 11, 2023 | Women's Ice Hockey

The 2023-24 season will begin this weekend for the Princeton women's hockey team when the Tigers host Robert Morris for a two-game series Friday and Saturday.

vs. Robert Morris
Friday, 6 p.m. | ESPN+ | Int'l Video | Tickets | Live Stats | Game Program
Saturday, 1 p.m. | ESPN+ | Int'l Video | Tickets | Live Stats | Game Program

Who's Back: Princeton returns the scorers of 58 of the team's 81 goals from last season, led by Olympic gold medalist and three-time IIHF Women's Hockey World Championship medalist senior Sarah Fillier, who had 19 goals and 18 assists last season for a 37 points, leading the team in all three categories. Sophomore Issy Wunder had nine goals and nine assists for 18 points to stand second, or tied for second, among returners on the team in all three categories. In goal, Taylor Hyland was the goalie on the All-ECAC Hockey rookie team last season and is one of three netminders on the roster, along with junior Jennifer Olnowich, who has played 1,045 minutes over her first two seasons, and rookie Uma Corniea, who set the Minnesota state record for goalie wins (103) in high school.

Fillier Climbs the Charts: Sarah Fillier has one more season to further cement her place in the Princeton record books. Her 151 career points stand tied for ninth, and a stand-alone fourth-place finish is 26 points away. With 49 points, she'd become the fourth player in program history with 200 career points, and Katherine Issel '95 holds the record at 218. Fillier's 63 career goals are 15th, and with 33 more goals, she'd become Princeton's highest-scoring player of this century, surpassing former teammate Maggie Connors '23 (78), Gretchen Anderson '04 (87) and former teammate Carly Bullock '20 (95). Kelly O'Dell '84 holds the record at 121 and is one of three players in program history to score 100 goals. Fillier's 88 assists are fourth all-time, and stand-alone second place is nine assists away. With 12 more assists, Fillier would join record holder Issel (121) as the only players in program history with 100 career assists.

The Staff: Head coach Cara Morey is back for her seventh overall year and sixth competitive season (2020-21 lost to the pandemic) leading the program. Her 88 career wins are second-most in program history to predecessor Jeff Kampersal '92 (327). With 12 more wins, Morey would become the second Princeton women's hockey coach and sixth hockey coach between the men's and women's programs to reach 100 wins. The four men's coaches who have reached 100 are Richard Vaughan (158 from 1935-59), Jim Higgins (130 from 1977-91), Don Cahoon (122 from 1991-2000), and Guy Gadowsky (105 from 2004-11). Along with Dan Gould, who returns and coaches the goaltenders, Morey has two new assistant coaches in Jamie Lundmark, who played professionally from 2001-18 including parts of six seasons in the NHL with the Rangers, Coyotes, Flames, Kings and Maple Leafs, and Melissa Samoskevich, who stands among the highest-scoring players in Quinnipiac history after graduating in 2019.

Series History: This weekend will be the third and fourth games between Princeton and Robert Morris. The teams had a home-and-home in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, first in Princeton, with the Tigers winning both, 3-2 and 6-3.

On Robert Morris: The Colonials are back after the program was on hiatus for two years. The team went 16-8-1 in the 2020-21 season, winning the College Hockey America tournament title and advancing to the NCAA tournament, where the team lost to Northeastern in the first round. One of the players on that team was then-freshman Ellie Marcovsky, who had eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points, all third or tied for third on the team. She then transferred to Princeton, where she has appeared in 41 games over two seasons. This season, Robert Morris is 3-1, opening its season with a trip to another ECAC Hockey program, Union, for a split before sweeping Saint Anselm last weekend at home. Ten players have scored goals over the first two weekends and 14 have scored points, with Morgan Giannone (four goals, six assists, 10 points) leading in all three categories. Maggie Hatch (3.25 GAA, 110:55) and Emma Gorski (2.80, 128:30) have split time in goal. The Colonials are back in College Hockey America and are one of two CHA teams on Princeton's schedule this season along with Mercyhurst (Nov. 10-11 in Princeton).